--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know very much but what I do know…" description: "\"I don't know very much but what I do know I know better than anybody, and I don't want to argue about it…My mind is not a bed to be made and re-made.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/james-agate-25524_answers_i-don-t-know-very-much-but-what-i-do-kno_438717.png" --- # I don't know very much but what I do know I know better… ![“I don't know very much but what I do know I know better than anybody, and I don't want to argue about it…My mind is not a bed to be made and re-made.” quote by James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/james-agate-25524_answers_i-don-t-know-very-much-but-what-i-do-kno_438717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/james-agate-25524_answers_i-don-t-know-very-much-but-what-i-do-kno_438717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/james-agate-25524_answers_i-don-t-know-very-much-but-what-i-do-kno_438717.png) > “I don't know very much but what I do know I know better than anybody, and I don't want to argue about it…My mind is not a bed to be made and re-made.” [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing personal expertise while rejecting needless debate; mind is flexible, not fixed. **In simple terms:** Know your strengths, avoid pointless arguments. Key Takeaway Focus on constructive dialogue. Themes expertise humility communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - academic debates - online forums - team meetings Key Concepts critical thinking self‑knowledge Questions to Reflect On - When is it wise to argue? - How do you balance confidence and openness? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Argue Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argue-mind-3851349/) [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Don Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-know-236502/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-better-252514/) [Know Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-know-257949/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [We do the best we can with what we know, and when we know better, we do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-do-the-best-we-can-with-what-we-know-and-when-we-know-better-we-do/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I know that you know but you do not know that you really do not know - know yourself. Look within and get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-that-you-know-but-you-do-not-know-that-you-really-do-not-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the day ever comes when they know who They are, they may know better where they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/if-the-day-ever-comes-when-they-know-who-they-are-they-may-know/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“They say you don't know what you don't know until you know that you don't know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/they-say-you-don-t-know-what-you-don-t-know-until-you-know-that-you/) [Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/) > [“What is her name? I don't know. I know her eyebrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/what-is-her-name-i-don-t-know-i-know-her-eyebrows/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“The more I know, the more I know I don't know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-know-the-more-i-know-i-don-t-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more you know, the more you know you don't know and the more you know that you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/the-more-you-know-the-more-you-know-you-don-t-know-and-the-more-you/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“The more you know, the more you know you don't know. Stay curious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee-bond/the-more-you-know-the-more-you-know-you-don-t-know-stay-curious/) [Bruce Lee Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee-bond/) > [“Good gods, can we stop arguing and just, I don’t know, make out?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/good-gods-can-we-stop-arguing-and-just-i-don-t-know-make-out/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I looked at her, with her hair spilled out on the pillows and the warmth of her body warming mine. And I thought, god-dang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/i-looked-at-her-with-her-hair-spilled-out-on-the-pillows-and-the/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [I don't know why it should be, I am sure; but the sight of another man asleep in bed when I am up, maddens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/i-don-t-know-why-it-should-be-i-am-sure-but-the-sight-of-another-man/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“They will not face the fact that the military professionals, while some have ideas about society in general that are distorted and must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach/they-will-not-face-the-fact-that-the-military-professionals-while/) [T. R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I know you better than you know yourself. So don't say I'm crazy, I know very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fefe-dobson/i-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself-so-don-t-say-i-m-crazy-i/) [Fefe Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fefe-dobson/) ## More by James Agate > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [New Year's resolution: To refrain from saying witty, unkind things, unless they are really witty and irreparably damaging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/new-year-s-resolution-to-refrain-from-saying-witty-unkind-things/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [This was an actress who, for twenty years, had the world at her feet. She kicked it away, and the ball rolled out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/this-was-an-actress-who-for-twenty-years-had-the-world-at-her-feet/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The English instinctively admire any man who has no talent and is modest about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/the-english-instinctively-admire-any-man-who-has-no-talent-and-is/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [In her early days she had that beatific expression characteristic of Victorian prettiness - like a sheep painted by Raphael.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/in-her-early-days-she-had-that-beatific-expression-characteristic-of/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [Shaw's plays are the price we pay for Shaw's prefaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/shaw-s-plays-are-the-price-we-pay-for-shaw-s-prefaces/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The maddest phenomenon in this wholly mad world – that the filming or wirelessing of an event, whether it is the Grand National or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/the-maddest-phenomenon-in-this-wholly-mad-world-that-the-filming-or/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [Long experience has taught me that in England nobody goes to the theatre unless he or she has bronchitis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/long-experience-has-taught-me-that-in-england-nobody-goes-to-the/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [My mind is not a bed to be made and remade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/my-mind-is-not-a-bed-to-be-made-and-remade/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The worst of failure of this kind is that it spoils the market for more competent performers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/the-worst-of-failure-of-this-kind-is-that-it-spoils-the-market-for/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Englishman can get along with sex quite perfectly so long as he can pretend that it isn't sex but something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/the-englishman-can-get-along-with-sex-quite-perfectly-so-long-as-he/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [I... wonder what it is in the New York air that enables me to sit up till all hours of the night in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/i-wonder-what-it-is-in-the-new-york-air-that-enables-me-to-sit-up/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [New Years Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/new-years-resolution-to-tolerate-fools-more-gladly-provided-this-does/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/new-year-s-resolution-to-tolerate-fools-more-gladly-provided-this/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [Don't pity me now, don't pity me never; I'm going to do nothing for ever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/don-t-pity-me-now-don-t-pity-me-never-i-m-going-to-do-nothing-for/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) [Explore all 23 James Agate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. 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